November 17, 2016

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A weekend of Fifa 17? Thanks Brazil…

by chaoticespeon

Since the 2010/11 installment, Fifa has been my go to Football game; almost exclusively due to the online game mode Ultimate Team. The aim? Well, as the title suggests, to build your ‘Ultimate Team’ of global superstars (or cheap ‘overpowered’ players) within the constraints of team chemistry to battle your way through the divisions and win as many tournaments along the way.

Fifa 17 has drastically upped the content for Ultimate Team; not only have they increased the amount of rewards, exclusive player cards and even added a Squad Building Challenge which acts as a fun puzzle aspect to be played on the fly via the web app, but they’ve included a new “competitive” mode, FUT Champions.

The idea is simple; qualify by either winning one of the daily tournaments, through earning promotion from division 2 or remaining in/winning division 1 then play 40 games in FUT Champions over the weekend to win massive prizes!

This weekend, I’m fortunate enough to have a completely free weekend and I managed to qualify today through one of the daily tournaments, this post will go through the team I used and suggest any changes which could be made to make this team even more fun to use!

The tournament I qualified through had a restriction where you could only use players with ONE nationality throughout your entire team. Being lucky enough to own Lionel Messi, I attempted at first to qualify with an Argentinian team… Fail. Next up? Italy. Fail. So instead I decided to tweak a team I’d been using throughout the whole of Fifa 16 and the beginning of Fifa 17; step up Brazil!

The Formation: 4-1-2-1-2 (2)

The narrow version of the 41212 was my favourite system last year, and fits my playstyle fairly well this year too! Having four central midfielders allows me to snuff out attacks through the centre of the pitch – primarily through the use of the CDM – dominate position and slip my pacy strikers behind an opposition’s defence through intricate passing or through balls from the CAM.

Goalkeeper:

Diego Alves (3.5K)

When deciding on a goalkeeper I look for three main attributes: Acrobatic shot save style, high diving and high reflexes. Alves comfortably ticks each box and has been my favourite Goalkeeper to use since last season. His distribution is good with a decent throw and (according to Futhead) a respectable 76 passing. The glove Chemistry style gives an invaluable increase to his handling and positioning and is a fantastically reliable ‘keeper despite his glaring weakness of possessing the ‘cautious with crosses’ trait.

Right Back:

Rafael (First Owner)

I was pretty reluctant to invest too many coins in this cup run and I had a first owner Rafael in my club; with a very well rounded card I decided to give him a go and he didn’t stand out. For a cheap full back, this certainly isn’t a bad thing; he didn’t give the ball away, won a fair amount of challenges and – overall – was a very solid option.

Centre Back (Right):

Marquinhos (1.2K)

Wow. I can’t recommend this guy highly enough. I’ve used Thiago Silva before; same nationality, same position, same club, drastically more expensive yet – despite the higher rating – Marquinhos just plays better. The Backbone Chem style increases his passing and physical stats to a very respectable level, his naturally high pace made him a nightmare for opposing forwards to get around whilst his decent ball control made him a wonderful option to pass backwards to if the midfield came under pressure.

Centre Back (Left):

Miranda (Loan)

I don’t usually use loan players in my teams. However, with the only other option for this slot being Arsenal’s Gabriel, I decided to use up the 7 game loan Miranda. How did he play? Well, the 15k I’ve spent to buy him permanently probably speaks for itself…

Left Back:

Jefferson (First Owner)

Sticking with the cheap and cheerful theme, Jefferson was also already in the club. Like Rafael, he posseses a very well rounded card, however unlike Rafael, the Sporting man DID stand out… for all the right reasons. Brilliant in defence (Honestly, I can barely recall him being beaten down the left flank), a threat going forward and his long shot trait coming into play with a vital goal in the quarter final, I see little point in ‘upgrading’ to Alex Sandro anytime soon.

Defensive Midfield:

Gustavo – Movember Version (10-15K)

In preperation for a potential Movember squad building challenge, Gustavo was one of the many Movember cards I decided to purchase. I currently use him alongside four other such cards in a Bundesliga team as one of two central midfielders. In that team, he’s average; but as the CDM in this team? Exceptional. Outstanding physicals, defending and acceptable pace saw Gustavo snuff out attack after attack whilst his boosted passing (from the Powerhouse chem style) allowed him to assist in retaining possession and launching attacks. If you want to go cheap, just grab his normal card for a fraction of the price. If you have the coins to spare, grab him!

Central Midfield (Right)

Fernandinho (First Owner)

Not much to say about Fernandinho for all of you familiar with Fifa; a wonderfully rounded card, great work rates, Fernandinho went from box to box helping to dominate the midfield, creating chances and scoring the occasional goal.

Central Midfield (Left)

Fred (0.8K)

I. ADORE. THIS. CARD. Fred is, without a doubt, my favourite central midfielder in the game currently. Perfect work rates, great pace, wonderfully rounded, engine chemistry style, Fred was THE dominant midfielder. For only 800 coins at the most give him a go in your teams!

Attacking Midfield:

Marlos (First Owner)

Marlos was sublime in Fifa 16, he had the pace, passing and dribbling ability possessed in 17, but seems to have lost his effectiveness from free kicks along with his finesse shot trait. Still, for discard price you certainly can’t go wrong with Marlos; often he felt a third striker as he scored and assisted some valuable goals.

Striker (Left)

Taison (0.9K)

The final of three Shakhtar players, Taison was once my club’s top Goalscorer. Possessing amazing pace, dribbling and the speedster trait, Taison was the second highest goalscorer throughout the tournament. He’s cheap to buy but ships as a CAM so you’ll have to change his position, but if you’re looking for a cheap, reliable, pacy Brazilian striker your search is over!

Striker (Right)

Pato (1.5K)

Ah, here he is. Without a doubt my favourite striker in this season’s Fifa. Described as the new Nilmar by Fifa veterens, Pato’s pace, coupled with the speed dribbler trait makes it incredibly easy to run any defender in the game (perhaps barring legends but luckily I’m a PS4 player!) absolutely ragged. The hunter chemistry style offers a very noticeable improvement to both his, already destructive, pace and finishing, turning him into a monsterous striker to play against. The top scorer in the tournament, the most assists, the MVP, the 1.5K Alexandre Pato.

MVPs:

1st – Pato
2nd – Fred
3rd – Marquinhos

I’ll keep you all posted either here or on twitter (@ChaoticEspeon) how FUT Champions weekend goes, with a team review here after the tournament ends.